1. Add regular milk (or oat milk) and butter to a small saucepan and heat up on the stove until the butter has melted completely. Allow the mixture to cool down until it’s lukewarm only (34-38°C/93-100°F). If you don’t want to use your fingers to test the temperature, you might want to use a kitchen thermometer* instead.

2. Meanwhile, combine the spelt flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and crumble in the yeast. Add the lukewarm milk mixture, vanilla extract, and egg, and knead everything with the dough hook for about 5-6 minutes until a smooth, elastic dough forms. The dough should easily pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 45-50 minutes, or until it has roughly doubled in volume.

3. Melt the butter for the topping. Use a little bit of that melted butter to grease a large casserole dish* (approx. 21×34 cm). Mix the rest with the milk (or cream) and set aside.

4. Place the risen dough on a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 12 (or 16) equal pieces. Gently stretch the pieces of dough and then add a little apricot jam on each dough piece. Fold the dough over the jam, completely enclosing the filling. Carefully shape the filled dough portions into balls and place them side by side in the greased baking dish (smooth sides up). Cover the dough pieces and let them rise for another 15 minutes or so.

5. While the dough balls are rising, preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) fan-forced. Brush the risen dough pieces with the butter mixture and then bake them in the preheated oven for about 35-38 minutes – the Buchteln should have a nice golden-brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool down. The Buchteln can be served still warm or cooled. If you wrap them airtight, they will still taste delicious the next day.